For as long as I’ve been a fan of metal, it’s always impressed me that some of the best bands come out of Australia. The same can definitely be said for Melbourne’s Feed Her to the Sharks. Signed to Victory Records in March of 2014, this band has been impressive from the start. With 2 releases under their belts, The Beauty of Falling in 2010 and Savage Seas in 2013, the band is ready to unleash their 3rd studio album Fortitude next week. Now, this album is going to either be one you love or hate… I don’t believe there’s an in-between. If you enjoyed the destructive, thrashy FHTTS… you’re in for a treat. The surprise, however, comes in whenever you realize that this band has introduced clean vocals and some 80s style riffage into the mix. So, that being said, if you’re a fan of modern metalcore…. you’ll definitely dig this release.

The album opens up with “The World Is Yours”, a headbanger that is sure to get the listener out of their seat. When the chorus for this monster comes in and you hear bassist Rob Davies come in with his clean vocals… the track takes a more emotional turn that is intensified by the fact that the instrumentals match the melodic nature and slow down. The track, as you might expect, is about facing your fears, destroying everything in your path and realizing that everyone has a purpose.

A little further into the record, the piano-led intro of “Burn the Traitor” sends us into one of the most impressive tracks in the discs 42:09 run-time. This album is wholly destructive in nature and shows that, if you thought this band was done with the truly heavy material, you can think again. “YOU CAN’T RUN FROM THE CONSEQUENCES AND WE WILL NEVER FORGET THIS! BURN THE TRAITOR, YOU LEFT US ALL FORSAKEN!!” vocalist Andrew Vanderzalm proclaims. I sense some deep personal meaning in the lyrics to this one, maybe some underlying conflict the world doesn’t know about? Either way, this track is easily one of the heaviest, hardest hitting on the album. Also, I have to give props to the band on the heavy use of electronics in just the right way on this one.

One of my favorite tracks on the album, by far, is “Heart of Stone”. The riff-led intro under Vanderzalm’s vocals really gets your blood pumping. You can tell that the band truly went all-in throughout this album but there’s something about “Heart of Stone”, especially when the blazing solo from guitarist Marinos Katsenevas comes in, coupled with the fact that it fades out into a beautiful piano solo which goes along with the melody of the chorus.

Almost to our journey’s end, “Faithless” comes in… another one of those tracks that I honed in on. This one is dark in nature, it’s about feeling like you’ve failed, the world is against you. Everyone loves to watch you in misery, you pray but the prayers remain unanswered… you’ve never felt so “Faithless”.

The final track comes in: “Let Go”, you’re lured into a sense of false security by the slow, acoustic guitar that introduces it… then you’re smashed in the face by Vanderzalm screaming “LET GO!”. While this is definitely one of those modern metalcore tracks I mentioned earlier in the review, it’s a killer way to end the record. It’s not too heavy or too light. It’s the perfect mixture of aggression and melody to end what looks to be one of 2015’s best releases.

As I stated before, whether you love the thrashy, destructive “Sharks” or you enjoy this new-found, more melodic (yet still heavy) Sharks, you can find something to love about this album. Every last detail of this album is perfectly put together from the mix and production, to the lyrics and instruments. Fortitude is out February 10th, 2015 on Victory Records and you’d be a fool not to pick it up! Check out “The World Is Yours” below and use the links to pre-order your copy!